


With You I’d Dance In A Storm In My Best Dress

by octothorpetopus



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Companionable Snark, Dancing, F/M, First Kiss, Kissing in the Rain, Mutual Pining, Pre-White House (West Wing), Trains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25836076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octothorpetopus/pseuds/octothorpetopus
Summary: One storm, two cities, a rather important fundraiser, and an unlikely pair of travel companions.
Relationships: Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. C. J.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was written by my friend fran! I wrote the next chapter, this was a collaboration between us. you can find her at fran with the funflower emoji on ff.net if you enjoyed this chapter!

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” C.J. Cregg yelled so loudly a few heads turned and parents pushed their kids to stand behind them. She took a deep breath. “You can’t be serious.” Her voice was calmer now as she watched the woman behind the counter look around as if she was searching for the quickest escape route. 

“I’m so sorry, ma’am. All the flights to New York have been cancelled due to the storm,” she told C.J. matter-of-factly. That didn’t help control the urge to hit her with something very big. Like the really boring book she had in her suitcase or one of her briefing folders. C.J. looked out the giant windows. 

“Oh, come on. You call that a storm? It’s barely raining.” It was, in fact, pouring down and several plastic chairs from the small cafes outside were being carried down the street by the wind. 

“I’m sorry, ma’am, there’s really nothing I can do.”   
“Don’t you ‘ma’am’ me!” C.J. snapped, slamming her hand on the counter. “I’m thirty six years old.” 

“Sorry, ma-” C.J. shot her a look before she could continue. She let her gaze wander around the airport for a second, wondering if there was any way she could be in New York by tonight. She caught sight of someone who looked oddly familiar. She could recognise that red hair anywhere. 

“Listen to me-” C.J. looked down at the woman’s name tag. “ _ Brenda _ . I am a very important person and I’m friends with even more important people and I need to be in New York tonight for a fundraiser for which I got a dress that will make every man - married or otherwise - want to take me home.” C.J. took a deep breath before continuing. “And I also just saw someone I work with who I really don’t - oh my god he’s coming over. Brenda, hide me.” Of course there was no way she could escape Danny Concannon now. He was already making his way through the crowd, waving at her. C.J. tried to pretend she didn’t see him but it was no use. 

“Having a little trouble there, C.J.?” Danny asked as he put on the most ridiculous hat C.J. had ever seen. It was made of straw and had plastic flowers all over it. He must have gotten it at some souvenir shop yesterday, when it was so hot you could hardly step outside. Or maybe he just carried it with him everywhere he went. C.J. wasn’t sure which one was worse. 

“No,” C.J. said casually, turning away. “Brenda here was just about to find a flight for me. Weren’t you, Brenda?” The woman was visibly confused. 

“I- Well, no. Like I told you, there are no flights-” 

“Yeah, alright, alright, I got it!” C.J. waved her hand, trying to make her shut up.    
“We’ll of course refund your ticket and I think there’s a train leaving for New York in about an hour. You would just need to take a bus from here to the train station. It’s not that far. What time do you need to be there?” The passive aggressive niceness in Brenda’s voice made C.J. want to choke her. 

“At seven,” she told her. 

“Really?” Danny said from beside her. C.J. shot him a look. 

“What?”

“The thing isn’t till nine. What do you need all this time for?” Once again, C.J. was surprised by his stupidity. 

“Well, I don’t want to show up looking like this.” C.J. pointed at her face.

“You look fine to me.” 

“We’re not doing this,” she told Danny sternly.

“What?” Danny almost laughed at her. She hated it when he did that. Hated it when he made her sound ridiculous. 

“ _ This _ .” She gestured between them. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Like so many times before, C.J. wanted to rip his head off. 

“You flirting with me, me telling you to stop, you not listening, me eventually flirting back. We’re not doing that.”    
“I wasn’t flirting with you,” Danny said and C.J. could feel the color rise to her face. 

“Fine,” she snapped turning back to Brenda. 

“Fine,” Danny agreed. C.J. had set her mind to spending as little time with Danny Concannon as humanly possible.

“Okay, Brenda, talk me through this. Which bus do I have to take?”

After what seemed like a lifetime, but was probably no more than ten minutes, Brenda had explained everything to them and they made their way out of the airport. 

“Danny, seriously what is the deal with that hat?” she asked him as they walked side by side. 

“What do you mean?” Danny pretended to be offended, placing one hand on his chest, gaping at her. 

“It’s hideous,” C.J. told him and reached up to grab it. He moved out of the way but she caught it by the edge and pulled it from his head. 

“Hey!” Danny protested but C.J. was not intending on giving it back to him any time soon.    
“If you wanna walk with me, the hat has to go,” C.J. said sternly as she stopped next to a trash can and let it hover dangerously close to the edge. “It’s me or the hat, Danny.” He put his hands in his pockets. 

“Fine,” he said and C.J. let the hat go. She walked back up to him and patted his shoulder. 

“Well done.” Danny just laughed at her. They walked towards the exit in silence and somehow made it to the bus stop without getting completely soaked to the bone. As they waited for their bus to arrive, C.J. tried to think of something to say. There had to be something. Anything.  _ Come on, C.J.  _ think _. _

“Why are you here anyways?” C.J. began.

“Huh?”

“Don’t you usually fly with the press corps?” 

“Don’t you usually fly with the governor?” Danny countered. 

“Touche.” C.J. laughed a little as she looked down at her shoes. The truth was, she didn’t really care why Danny was here but she was glad that he was.

“Hey, so before,” Danny said, looking up from where he was sitting on the small bench.    
“Yeah?” 

“Why did you think I was flirting with you?” The question caught her off guard. She didn’t know what to say to that. Why  _ had _ she thought he was flirting with her?

“I- Well. I don’t know. You told me I looked good,” C.J. stumbled over her own words, looking anywhere but at Danny. 

“Actually, I told you, you look fine but that’s not the point.”

“No, not really,” C.J. agreed, although she wished they were arguing about whether he had said fine or good instead of this. 

“Besides, the governor told you, you looked good yesterday. You didn’t think  _ he _ was flirting with you, did you?” Danny smirked at her. 

“Well- No. That was different.”    
“How?” 

“He’s married. Also, he would never do that.” C.J. turned away, wanting very much for this conversation to be over. 

“You seemed kinda disappointed when I told you I wasn’t flirting with you.” 

“I wasn’t.” C.J. still didn’t look at him. Her cheeks were practically glowing and she didn’t want him to know he had that effect on her. 

“Do you want me to flirt with you?” Danny got up when he saw their bus approaching. He was now next to her, smiling, as if this was the most natural thing to ask. 

“Danny, I-” The bus pulled up in front of them and C.J. was saved from answering his question. Danny let C.J. get on first so she made her way to the back and sat down by the window. Danny let himself fall down in the seat next to her, a bit to close for C.J.’s liking. Not because it made her feel uncomfortable but because it made her feel safe. She liked the way his shoulder felt against hers and the way his shampoo smelled. She wasn’t supposed to like those things though. She wasn’t supposed to feel anything at all. 

“What are you thinking about?” Danny asked and made C.J. snap out of her thoughts. The bus started moving. 

“What?” C.J. asked. 

“I asked you what you were thinking about.”   
“Oh, nothing. I wasn’t think about anything,” she told him. 

“I find that hard to believe,” Danny said, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Well, nothing important anyways,” she dismissed him.

“Okay.” They sat in silence for the rest of the ride, C.J. looking out the window, watching the cars go by on the other side of the road. She wondered how the bus driver could even see anything with all the rain and she silently prayed that they would reach the train station alive. When the bus came to a sudden halt, C.J. reached for Danny’s arm to steady herself but quickly let go when she realised they had arrived. They got off and Danny found an umbrella in his backpack.

“Take this,” he told her, trying to hand it to her. 

“No, it’s yours. You take it.” 

“You’ll get soaked,” Danny insisted, still holding the it out to her. 

“So will you,” C.J. yelled over the sound of thunder. Danny put up the umbrella and held it over her head. “Danny, seriously, I’m fine,” she tried but Danny wouldn’t have it. “I don’t need you to save me.”   
“I’m not saving you, I’m offering you my umbrella.” C.J. rolled her eyes. 

“Fine,” she told him and took the umbrella from him. With her free hand she grabbed Danny by the jacket and pulled him closer to her, so that they were both standing under it. His face was only inches from hers but she hurriedly turned away and let go of his jacket. C.J. grabbed her suitcase and started walking towards the main entrance of the train station, Danny following closely behind her. The umbrella was too small for two people so C.J.’s left side got completely soaked but she didn’t mind. When they were safely inside, C.J. looked at her watch. 

“Our train leaves in ten minutes,” she told Danny. 

“I’ll get the tickets,” he said and was already on his way over to the ticketstand. 

“Danny, wait.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him back. 

“You can just pay me back another time, C.J.,” Danny said. 

“No, Danny. I’ll come with you.”    
“This would be a lot faster if you’d just let me buy you the ticket.” Danny tugged her hand a little, trying to get her to let go. “I buy you the ticket, you go on a date with me. What do you say?” Danny smirked at her and C.J. dropped his hand. She missed it immediately after but she would never admit that. Not even to herself.   
“That’s not going to happen,” C.J. laughed. 

“Fine. But I’ll still get the tickets.” Danny didn’t move though. He waited for her to tell him it was alright. 

“Okay,” she said. “Go!” And then Danny ran off, leaving C.J. to look after their things. It was weird how natural Danny’s hand had felt in her own. There had been nothing weird or awkward about it. It had just felt right. As she waited, C.J. thought about how close his face had been before and how easy it would have been to just kiss him. She would never have done that, of course. She would never even admit that she didn’t totally despise him. Sure, he sometimes wrote unflattering things or asked the annoying questions but the truth was, C.J. didn’t mind. She liked to have someone to disagree with. It kept her on her toes. 

“There you go.” Danny was suddenly standing right in front of her, two tickets in his hand. He handed one to her.    
“Thanks,” C.J. mumbled, a little flustered by his sudden appearance. 

“Platform five,” Danny informed her as they started walking. “And we have about two minutes.” C.J. started running and soon Danny followed her, yelling at people to make room for them as they sprinted towards the platform. When they arrived, panting and sweating, the train was still there but it looked like it was ready to leave any minute. C.J. jumped in through the first best door she could find, Danny following closely behind her. C.J. leaned against the wall and let go of her suitcase, running her hands over her face. Danny was gasping for air beside her, his hands on his knees.    
“We made it,” he said through hollow breaths. 

“Yeah.” The door closed behind them. “We made it.” C.J. pushed herself off the wall. “We better find a place to sit,” she said and looked down the hall to see if there were a few empty seats they might be able to occupy. Suddenly, the train started moving and C.J. was knocked off her feet, stumbling into Danny. Danny tried to steady her as they were knocked against the wall. His arms wrapped around her body and for a split second C.J. thought about how nice it felt to have someone hold her like that. Then she remembered who she was and quickly untangled herself from his embrace. 

“Sorry ‘bout that.” Her voice sounded strangely high. 

“Don’t worry.” C.J. wrung her hands uncomfortably and tried to look away. “We should find a place to sit.” 

“Yeah,” Danny agreed and started walking down the aisle. The train was filled with business people, families with small children and college students who buried their face in their books. C.J. hadn’t expected it to be this crowded. After they had walked almost the entire length of the train, Danny finally spotted an empty seat.    
“Over there,” he said as he pointed a few rows ahead. “You should sit down there.” 

“What about you?” C.J. asked as they made their way towards the seat. 

“I’ll find something. I’ll sit on the floor if I have to. I don’t mind. It’s only a few hours.” 

“Five, actually,” C.J. reminded him.    
“It’s fine, C.J.,” he assured her and helped put away her luggage. 

“Danny…” She didn’t really know what to say. 

“I’ll see you in New York. Don’t forget to get off.” 

“Ha-ha.” C.J. playfully punched his arm before watching him walk away from her. She sat down next to a woman who was sleeping with her head against the window. C.J. closed her eyes too but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t fall asleep. She felt uncomfortable in her chair and she wanted someone to talk to. She got out her cell phone and tried to call Leo. It went straight to voicemail. She tried Josh instead who picked up after the third ring.    
“Hey there, C.J.,” he said. 

“Hey, Josh. Joshua. Josh.” 

“Where’re you calling from? Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane now or something?” C.J. could hear Donna say something in the background. It sounded like she was talking about elephants but that couldn’t be right. 

“Yeah listen. The thing is. My flight got cancelled…” 

“Are you serious?” Josh asked.

“Yes but don’t worry. I’m on a train. I’ll be there in time for the fundraiser,” she told him. She could hear Josh sigh through the phone. 

“Great. I’ll see you then.”   
“Josh?” C.J. hurried to say before Josh could hang up. 

“Yeah?”   
“Don’t tell Leo. It’ll just stress him out.” 

“Okay. I won’t,” Josh assured her. “Bye, C.J.”   
“Bye, Josh.” The other end of the call went silent and C.J. put her phone away. She reached into her bag and got out one briefing folders she hadn’t read yet. Her eyes scanned the document but she simply couldn’t concentrate on anything it said. It found its way back into her bag and C.J. knew very well that she wouldn’t read it until the next day. She thought about Danny, sitting somewhere all on his own, possibly scribbling down ideas in his notebook. She wondered if he was thinking about her too. Suddenly, and without really thinking about it, C.J. got up from her seat, grabbed her things and made her way towards the the back of the train. She found Danny sitting on the floor, staring out into nothingness. He didn’t seem to notice her. C.J. nudged his foot with the tip of her own. 

“Hey there, stranger,” she said when his eyes shot up to meet hers. 

“Hey… What’re you doing here?” Danny asked. C.J. just shrugged.    
“I got lonely.”    
“Well, we can’t have that.” Danny smiled as she sat down next to him. 

“No, we can’t,” C.J agreed. She listened to the rain drumming against the windows of the train. Growing up in Dayton, she had always loved the sound of rain. It made her feel at home. She didn’t know what came over her but in that moment she reached down and took Danny’s hand, their fingers intertwining. 

“What’re you-”

“Don’t talk,” C.J. told him as she rested her head on his shoulder. Danny gave her hand a gentle squeeze. 

“Okay.” C.J. closed her eyes for just a moment, pretending this could last forever. 


	2. Danny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter, I hope you enjoy it!

Danny wasn’t quite sure at what point she fell asleep between CJ coming to find him and the train pulling to a stop in New York, but he was sure that there was no better way to be woken up than her hand gently shaking his shoulder.

“CJ. CJ.” Her eyes fluttered open, and came into focus. “We’re here.” She stood and offered him a hand up, which he took, trying not to look shocked at how strong she was. She held onto his hand for just a second too long and time slowed, her soft and uncalloused fingertips just grazing his wrist, as if she was feeling for his racing pulse. Then she let go and time resumed at its normal pace, leaving Danny to wonder if all of it- the long glances and Mona Lisa smiles- was just in his head.

“Where are you staying?” he asked, trying to sound like he wasn’t more confused than he had ever been in his life.

“The Roosevelt Hotel on 45th. How about you?” She was turned away from him, reaching for her bag.

“The very same.” She stopped mid-step.

“You’re kidding.”   
“Afraid not. Want to split a cab?” She hesitated, her back still to him. 

“Fine,” she sighed, but there was something not-so-resigned in her tone. Possibly even eager. The last traces of a smile were just disappearing off her face when she turned back to him. “Look, we’ve got to get a move on if I’m going be presentable at this fundraiser.” Danny looked her up and down and stifled a laugh, not because she looked ridiculous, but because he couldn’t imagine her ever looking less than gorgeous. Even now, dressed for travel in jeans and a sweater, she looked straight off the pages of Vogue. “What are you looking at?” CJ looked down at herself. “Did I spill something on myself?”

“No, you look… well, you look good, CJ.”

“You said that already.” He shrugged.

“And I meant it. Now come on, are we getting a cab or not?” New York was far less rainy than it had been when they left Maine five hours ago, and Danny silently rejoiced in the sun on his face out on the sidewalk, even if he did sort of hate New York. He was a midwest boy at heart, and DC was a big enough city for his taste. Having CJ here, standing so close he could have taken her hand if he just moved a few inches, probably helped. 

“Hey! Taxi!” She waved a frantic hand to hail the first cabbie they saw, and Danny helped her load their luggage into the trunk. They sat together in the backseat, and although he wouldn’t tell her, he caught her sneaking glances at him as he snuck glances at her. Both of them nearly jumped when her phone rang.

“Hello?” CJ answered. Someone spoke briefly on the other line. “Leo? Damn it, I told Josh not to- yeah, I’m fine. The train ride wasn’t too bad.” When she said this, she looked sideways at Danny, smirking. “We-” she winced. “ _ I _ just got in, I’ll be at the hotel in ten.” Leo said something, and CJ hung up. “Sorry. Just…”

“I get it.” He had to admit there was something illicit about the whole affair. It wasn’t like much had happened beyond a little flirting, one near-kiss under the umbrella, and three times holding hands. And even if something had happened, there was no scandal to be had. He was a reporter, she was working for the campaign. There were no rules about a relationship between them. That being said, it still felt like something to be kept quiet, just between them. “So… that dress. Every man? Married or otherwise? Must be some dress.” CJ flushed a deep red.

“You heard that?”

“I have batlike ears.” She snorted.

“I’ll say this, I’ve never looked as good in my life as I look in that dress.”

“Really?” Danny arched his eyebrows. “That’s a high bar.”

“I can’t tell if that’s a tall joke or not. But thank you.” He noticed that her blush had spread all the way from the tips of her ears to her collarbone. The cabbie turned a sharp corner and her knee bumped against his. Danny felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He froze, like not moving would make time stop so he could stay in that moment forever. Time kept moving. CJ didn’t. She left her knee against his, staring out the window at the city, still red-faced and grinning. He thought that if he could ever make her smile like that again, he could die happy. The cab stopped before he had a chance to go two-for-one, though. He reached for his wallet, but CJ nearly hit him in the face in an effort to stop him. “Danny, you bought the train tickets, this is the first in a very long list of things I can do to make it up to you.”

“CJ, seriously, it’s not that big of a-”

“Here. Keep the change.” CJ had turned away from him and paid before he could finish.

“-deal. Okay. Well.” She winked at him and got out of the cab.

“Listen, Danny, I gotta run, but-” She shrugged, but he got it.

“Go.”

“Thanks. For everything.” He watched her go, half-jogging through the hotel doors, her suitcase swinging at her side. 

“You’re welcome,” he murmured, his voice drowning in the sheer chaos around him. After a few seconds, he entered the hotel, giving enough time between them that no one would ask any questions. He tried his hardest to keep his eyes locked on the front desk, but he couldn’t help it, he turned to look at CJ, just once. She was in the middle of a heated conversation with Josh, but as if on cue, as if she realized he was looking at her, she looked back over her shoulder, meeting his eyes just for a second. Josh followed her line of sight, glanced between her and Danny, then looked away, appearing to be minding his own business. 

“Hi, reservation for Danny Concannon?” He checked in rather absentmindedly, unable to keep his mind from straying to CJ, and the way she smiled in the cab, her hand in his on the train, her soaked left side as she shared the umbrella with him. At this moment, all he wanted was a shower to clear his head, a minibar martini, and a couple quiet hours before the insanity that always was these damn fundraisers. But that wasn’t the plan, it seemed, because the door refused to unlock. Danny slumped to the floor, debating whether it was worth it to haul ass back down to the first floor, get his key replaced, and come all the way back up. Then the elevator doors opened with a  _ ding,  _ and CJ appeared. She stopped mid-step when she saw Danny.

“What are you-?” She jumped out of the way to avoid the closing elevator doors. “What are you doing?”

“Sitting.”   
“I can see that. Why?” He held up his room key.

“I can’t open the door.” CJ shook her head, laughing to herself, and stopped… at the room just next to Danny’s. She looked at the door, then him, then back at the door, then back at him, and sighed.

“You’re kidding.”

“Wait, you’re-“

“In the room next to yours.” Chuckling, CJ shook her head. “Come on,” she said, and unlocked her own door. “I’ll open up the adjoining door for you.”

“You’re a lifesaver, CJ,” Danny said, and got to his feet.

“I know.”

“Can I buy you a drink? Make it up to you?” He asked as he followed her into the room, feeling a little like a puppy following around its new owner.

“Danny, I still owe you for the train tickets.”

“Can I buy you a drink anyway?”

“I have to get ready for the fundraiser. You know, the one that starts in two hours?”

“Come on, CJ-“

“Danny, so help me god, I will shove your notepad so far down your throat you’ll have Pulitzer-worthy articles coming out of your ass for a week.” She slammed open the adjoining door and waved him through.

“You really think my articles are Pulitzer-worthy?” Danny smiled brightly, and CJ bit back a smile of her own.

“See you later, Danny,” she said, and shut the door in his face. Through the door, he heard her laughing- well, more like giggling, which made him giggle. How crazy was that? In the span of a day, Danny had become a different person, someone who giggled and bought train tickets for press secretaries he barely knew and who worried that his one nice suit wasn’t going to be nice enough for her. He rubbed his bleary eyes, and realized he hadn’t slept in almost 24 hours. An hour wasn’t going to do much for him, but he’d take what he could get. Danny fell back onto the soft queen-size bed and let his head fill with thoughts of her.

He was too anxious to sleep, although he wasn’t quite sure why. He didn’t see her again before he left the hotel. That was fine, they had spent the whole day together, and the last thing Danny wanted to do was smother her. He thought about knocking on the door and asking for help tying his bow tie (which wasn’t an unnecessary favor, his bow tie-tying skills were lackluster at best) but decided against it. He’d see her tonight. Only when he arrived at the fundraiser, he didn’t see her, not at first. He saw Bartlet in the middle of the room, surrounded by potential donors- he’d say hi later- and Josh and Sam off to one side, probably flirting- or was Josh with his assistant? He made a mental note to try to reassemble the messy family tree that made up the Bartlet campaign. But CJ was nowhere to be seen. Danny wasn’t going to sulk, though. He was here for work, he had to remember, and when she showed-

And that’s when he saw her.

Danny’s breath hitched in his throat. She had always been stunning; rooms always seemed to brighten when she walked in, and everything else seemed duller by comparison. Tonight, though, she looked beyond beautiful. Beautiful was a word used to describe the stars on clear nights, to describe expensive diamond jewelry and flowery language. Beautiful couldn’t even begin to describe how CJ looked in that first moment he saw her. She looked radiant, enchanting... divine. That was the word. She looked like an Ancient Greek statue of Hera, or maybe Aphrodite, carved from marble and come to life in rosy flesh and red silk. When her eyes finally caught his from across that crowded room, she smiled, and the world fell away.

“Hi,” she said as she approached him, ducking her head almost shyly. For a moment, Danny forgot how to speak.

“Hey,” he stammered out finally. “You look…” 

“You like the dress?” She turned on one gold stiletto, letting him take in the full effect of the red dress, which looked like it had been made with her in mind. It wasn’t just the dress, though, or the way her hair was curled just so, or the delicate gold jewelry that almost seemed to float on the air just above her skin, or the blonde curls cut just over the shoulder that bounced around her face with every step. It was her, her aura, the way she held herself. There was a sort of quiet elegance in the way she moved. She drew attention without meaning to, turned every head just by walking into a room.

“I… love the dress.” CJ grinned.

“You don’t clean up too badly yourself.” In a graceful sleight-of-hand, she snagged two glasses of champagne from a nearby waiter and handed one to Danny. 

“To finally getting here,” he said, holding up his glass.

“And having a damn good time doing it,” she finished, and clinked hers against his.

“Really? You had a good time today? Even with all the mishaps?” CJ considered for a moment, then nodded.

“Yeah. I really did.” She swallowed her champagne in one go and held out her hand, surprisingly sheepish. “Say, do you like dancing?”

“I do. Don’t you have, I don’t know, campaign stuff to do?”

“Yeah.” She didn’t move. Gingerly, Danny took her hand and allowed her to pull him onto the dance floor. A jazz band was set up in one corner, and although he wasn’t particularly fond of jazz, Danny had to admit it was nice. Or maybe that was just the weight of her hands, one on the back of his neck and the other in his hand, and the gentle smile on her face. “You’re good at this,” she said, sounding shocked. “I really didn’t know you could dance.” Danny shrugged.

“When I was a kid, my parents signed my sisters up for dance lessons. They didn’t really have anything else for me to do, so I went too. I was pretty good, actually.” CJ bit her lip, green eyes wide and sparkling.

“You’re an interesting guy, Danny Concannon.”

“You really think so?”

“Well, let’s put it this way- you’re the only man I’ve ever danced with who didn’t care that I was taller than him.” It was true, she had 2 inches on him on a normal day, and in heels, it was a good 6 or 7. 

“CJ, any guy who’s insecure about his height or yours doesn’t deserve to dance with you.”

“And you do?”

“You’re still dancing with me, aren’t you?” And just like that, one dance turned into two, which turned into five, and after awhile, they stumbled off the dance floor, out of breath and lightheaded, but laughing like crazy. CJ shook her head, as if trying to clear it of cobwebs, and when she looked back at Danny, he felt as though he was going to pass out. 

“I have to run. The governor’s about to speak, and-”

“Go. I’ll still be here.” He waved her off, trying her hardest to focus on anything but the way she felt in his arms and failing miserably. Governor Bartlet was usually so enjoyable Danny had no choice but to pay attention, but he couldn’t, not with CJ standing twelve feet behind him. And then, for some reason he couldn’t quite see, she gasped.

“Oh my god!” She screamed, interrupting the governor in the middle of a joke about New York subways, and dropped to her knees, disappearing from sight. Danny was out of his seat in a split second and started pushing through the crowd to her, only half-listening to the gasps and disgruntled mutters of the people around him. Backstage, only about 20 feet from the podium, CJ knelt over an unconscious Josh Lyman, frantically shaking his shoulder.

“Jesus, what happened?” Danny asked as Abbey Bartlet slid past him.

“I don’t know, he was fine one minute and then he just… dropped,” Sam explained. “I guess he fainted. Dr. Bartlet, is he gonna be-”

“I’m fine!” Josh’s eyes fluttered open and the entire room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Seriously, guys.” He sat up, wincing. “Except I think maybe I hit my head.”

“Josh, when was the last time you drank a glass of water?” Abbey asked.

“Uh…” he thought for a while. “I had a can of sparkling water just after checking into the hotel in Bangor.”

“Bangor? Josh, that was two days ago!” CJ slapped the back of his head.

“Ow! Hey, I already have brain damage!”

“Probably not, but we should still get you to the hospital,” Abbey said, and she and Sam helped him to his feet. “Did someone call an ambulance?”

“I did.” CJ raised her hand and came to stand next to Danny.

“Then we’ll wait until it gets here. Jed?” Governor Bartlet nodded.

“Right.” He turned back to the assembled spectators. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut tonight a little short, folks. I offer you my sincerest apologies.”

“Governor-”

“Josh.” Bartlet silenced Josh with a glance. CJ turned to Danny, rubbing her temples.

“Look, Danny, I’m going to wait for the ambulance, you should go.”

“I’ll wait for you.” He squeezed her arm and gave her the most comforting smile he could manage. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t. Thanks.” Danny took a seat on the edge of the stage and listened to the click of CJ’s heels on the floor as she began to pace. Her footsteps combined with the swish of her dress created a pleasant white noise above Josh quietly arguing with the Bartlets, and Toby and Sam trying (rather poorly) to whistle in harmony. At some point, the ambulance arrived, and Josh, despite his protests, was carried out on a stretcher.

“Wanna split a cab?” Danny tried not to jump at CJ’s sudden appearance over his shoulder.

“Really? CJ, we’ve spent all day together, I’m not gonna begrudge you one cab ride without me.”

“Really. Come on.”

They sat silently on the backseat of the yellow cab. Every time they passed a streetlight, CJ’s narrow, chiseled features were bathed in a golden glow, and once or twice, Danny could have sworn he saw a halo form around her head. She looked the same way he felt, ready to drop dead from exhaustion, but her bright eyes betrayed her, reflecting the city as they passed through it. Her perfectly manicured hand rested on the seat between them, mere inches from his own. With every block they drove, she shifted closer and closer, until her pinky bumped his, knocking the air out of his lungs. Eyes still fixed on the passing city, CJ slipped her slender hand under his broad one, and turned it so that her palm was pressed against his. Danny kept his eyes fixed on the headrest in front of him, heart in his throat as her fingers interwove his, still resting on the black leather between them. Neither of them moved a muscle, not willing to break the fragile tension that seemed to physically occupy the air in the cab. It floored Danny that the cabbie didn’t seem to be affected, that the whole city hadn’t somehow fallen under the same spell they had, so restless that time seemed to slow. He realized then that the rainstorm they had left behind in Maine had caught up with them, and the drops seemed to fall in slow-motion even as the cab pulled up to the curb outside the hotel. He paid with his free hand and slid out behind CJ. They were hardly out of the cab and onto the sidewalk when CJ stopped in her tracks, already soaked through, but she didn’t seem to notice, or maybe it was just that she didn’t care. 

“Danny?”

“What?”

“Kiss me.” He didn’t hesitate. With his free hand on the back of her neck, he kissed her, crushing his nose against hers, but he didn’t care, and the world started up again, as if it was finally allowed to kick into full gear. The rain fell in real time, the streetlight halo disappeared, the tension between them shattered with every inch of space that closed. Thunder cracked over their heads but it might as well have been back in Maine or half across the world in China for all Danny cared. CJ hung onto his lapels for dear life, pulling him closer even though there wasn’t any room left to close between them, as if they could never be close enough. People passed, rain fell, cars roared in the street, but that was all background noise. His senses were dominated by  _ her,  _ by the feel of her soaked curls under his hand, the taste of champagne on her breath, the scent of her perfume, the sight of her in that red dress that seemed burned into his vision. She pulled away first, gasping for air as she let her forehead rest against his.

“It’s freezing out here.”

“Yep.”

“I don’t have a jacket, I’m gonna catch a cold.” Danny slipped just jacket off without a second thought and wrapped it around CJ’s shoulders. She slicked her hair out of her face and kissed him again, gentler this time, with less urgency.

“We should still go in.”

“I guess.” She matched him stride-for-stride into the hotel, slipping her hand into his just as they crossed the threshold. No words were said between them- they didn’t need words, even though words were what they excelled at. A reporter and a press secretary. It was almost like a fairy tale, except that he didn’t think fairy tale universes had reporters or press secretaries. 

“So.” CJ said as they approached their respective doors. 

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” She bit her lip as if considering saying something more.

“I guess so.”

“Hey, CJ?” Danny asked as he unlocked the door.

“Yeah?”

“You look damn good in that dress.” She smiled and shook her head and fell out of sight as he closed the door behind him. Once alone, Danny realized how soaked he was, too. His one nice suit might never recover. Still, it was worth it for that kiss, that rom-com worthy kiss. He could hear her walking around on the other side of the wall between their rooms, and he fell back onto the bed, running his hands over his face. Who knew that one day, one delayed flight, could turn his world? Who knew that one woman could turn black and white into shades of red and gold that flashed behind his eyelids every time he shut his eyes? He couldn’t bear to let it end like that, with just a “You look damn good in that dress.” What was that, anyway? She didn’t look “good”, she was only the single most stunning thing he’d ever seen in his life. He put on a dry sweater and a pair of jeans and before he knew what he was doing, he knocked on the adjoining door between their two rooms. For a moment, she didn’t answer, and he was almost relieved. Then, she opened the door, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, drying her hair with a towel, and still gorgeous enough to make him forget what he was going to say.

“What’s up?” CJ asked, leaning against the doorway.

“Do you, uh… do you maybe want to watch a movie? Or something?” She looked at him with an expression that was part-puzzled, part-endeared, and part-something he couldn’t quite recognize.

“Come on in,” she said, and stepped aside to let him in. “Want a beer?”

“They’re like $14 out of the minibar.” Shrugging, she brushed past him. 

“You only live once, right?” She tossed him a bottle of some New York craft beer and flopped onto the bed. Danny sat down awkwardly on the edge, but CJ wasn’t having that. Her hand found the collar of his shirt and tugged him gently until he slid back to sit next to her. Something was playing on the TV, but he took little notice, because CJ had let her head fall onto his shoulder, her wet hair soaking through his sweater. He used his free hand to smooth her hair out of her face, and she snuggled into him, so close he could feel her rapid heartbeat. It wasn’t until she started snoring that he realized she had fallen asleep. As quietly as he could, trying his best not to move so as not to wake her up, he turned off the TV, and then the light. He kissed the top of her head and let his cheek rest against it. Off in the distance, thunder crashed. Inside, the radiator hummed, CJ snored, and Danny Concannon shut his eyes, and got some sleep for the first time in almost 24 hours.


End file.
